10 Listens: Western Avenue roadway construction should be done by end of year

Construction along Western Avenue in Knoxville has gone on for years. Most of the project is complete, and TDOT says it hopes to finish the roadway's construction by the end of this year.

Author:
Stephanie Haines

Published:
4:25 PM EDT October 13, 2017

Updated:
4:25 PM EDT October 13, 2017

Construction on Western Avenue in Knoxville has been going on for years and could last a little longer. We've had several viewers reach out to us over the past few weeks, asking when it would finally finish.

According to TDOT, a project to widen the state route from Schaad Road to Interstate 640 started more than five years ago. The contract was let in 2010 with a bid price of more than $31 million. So far, four miles of the project is complete. About 1,500 feet of road near Third Creek Road and Sullivan Road should be complete by the end of this year. When finished, the road will have five lanes instead of two.

In the meantime, people who live or work near the construction zone say it’s a headache.

“If you’re trying to get out of this road anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30 to get onto Western, you might as well sit there and wait for 10 or 15 minutes,” Drew Starnes, who works at US Lawns Knoxville, said.

According to TDOT, the delay is because of a plan to build a pedestrian bridge over the road. For this TDOT is partnering with the City of Knoxville, which said the bridge will connect to the City’s greenways and nearby Victor Ashe Park. The City said some designs for the pedestrian way had to be changed. TDOT hopes to have the bridge done by this spring.

Now TDOT said crews on site are working on sewer and gas work.

Do you have something you'd like us to look into? Email 10Listens@wbir.com.